12 Year Old in “Vegetative State” After Tonsil Surgery in Canadian Hospital While Canadian Premier Comes to U.S. for Treatment

When I first read the story of 12 year old Dylan Campbell, I was saddened for the family, and for Dylan. But I didn’t see how responsible the hospital was for his condition. See, this is the first explanation, as written at CBC.ca:

Dylan Campbell had the routine tonsillectomy in November and was released. However, about five days later, his mother rushed him back after he started coughing up blood, according to Morris Swan Shannacappo, grand chief of the Southern Chiefs Organization, an advocacy group for First Nations people in southern Manitoba.

The boy has been on life-support since then, completely dependent on caregivers.

Sounds like something happened at home and the boy was rushed to the hospital when it was already too late.

The father said his son suffered a cardiac arrest five days after the surgery, just shortly after his mother rushed him back to the hospital because he was coughing up blood and having trouble breathing.

Dylan’s mother, Sandra Campbell, said the only thing hospital staff did for her son before his heart stopped was to give him a pan to collect the blood.

“He was puking – we had half a basin of blood clots and vomit,” Sandra said. “He was gasping for air.”

Sandra said because her son was flailing around, hospital staff restrained him, using so much force he was left with bruising on his arms and shoulders.

Jerry said when he showed up and saw what the hospital staff were doing to his son, he became so angry that security staff were called to take him away.

Hospital staff brought Jerry back to the emergency department a few minutes later.

“I can hear my wife screaming, `He’s gone, he’s gone,”‘ he recalls. “Now they were rushing to do something.”

Despite the efforts of doctors, a letter from Health Sciences Centre told the family that Dylan is “in a vegetative state . . . totally dependant on his caregivers to meet all his needs.”

What. An. Outrage.

This is despicable.

This child has a heart attack and the hospital staff do nothing.

This is the treatment the common people get. Brock Lesnar had to flee Canadian healthcare when he grew ill. He said it nearly killed him.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams will travel to the United States this week where he will undergo heart surgery, according to the Globe and Mail. However, Williams will have surgery south of the border because the treatment he needs is not available in his province.

…

The Canadian Press notes that the Premier’s surgery in the US has caused a fierce online health care debate because Newfoundland and Labrador has attempted to restore confidence in their health care system after several botched breast cancer tests.

Provincial Liberal Leader Yvonne Jones offered the Premier her best wishes but demanded that Williams owes the public an explanation on what he needs and why he’s traveling to the US for surgery.

Duane Lester

Duane Lester is co-founder of All American Blogger, and the primary writer. Following graduation, Duane entered the United States Navy as a journalist. He spent five years touring the world, reporting on local news and sports. Following his enlistment, Duane spent almost 10 years working with adjudicated youth in residential treatment environments.
Duane discovered politics after September 11. He credits Erich "Mancow" Muller for opening his eyes to his conservative beliefs. Since then, Duane has devoured books and literature on politics, reading everything he can from Adam Smith to Larry Elder to Thomas Sowell. He refers to his style of politics as "conserva-tarian", a mixture of conservative and libertarian beliefs.